Through what MODERN countries did the silk roads go?

The silk roads go through China, India, Tibet, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekiostan, Afganistan, Kazakhstan, Persian, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Greece, and others.

Explain this difference.

Chinese foreign policy was quite different from the later European policies that followed the Indian Ocean. The Chinese preferred to pursue their aims by trade, influence and bribery rather than to make conflicts and direct colonization.

Explain how Zhu Di strived to make Beijing the world's INTELLECTUAL capital.

Zhu Di made Beijing the world's most intellectual capital by gathering all encyclopedias and libraries covering every subject known to man. Making an encyclopedia of four thousand volumes containing fifty million characters was completes just before the Forbidden City began.

In your reader's log, jot down a few facts about it.


Is there evidence here that Zhu Di truly did not understand what was happening to his rule?

Yes, people usually don't tend to think clearly and straight when they are sick. During that time, ZhuDi was experiencing many sickness and disasters, such as falling off a horse and hurting his head. Also he had emotional problems due to his favorite concubine dying. So he wouldn't have been able to think straight and clearly.


List all the things that happened to the old emperor near the end of his life.

There was a rebellion in Annam and Vietnam. The Chinese couldn't defeat Le L'oi, the founder of the dynasty that was to rule Vietnam for 360 years. The rebellion was successful and China experienced the most serious defeat in the Ming dynasty.

"All voyages of the treasure ships are to be stopped." Explain how this edict changed the history of not only China but of the WORLD. How did this leave open the "door" for Europe to take center stage now?

All the pepper in the imperial warehouses was given away, the purchase of all luxury goods banned, the budget deficit slashed and all expenditure on the treasure fleets curtailed. China was in great abundance of goods. Also, this allowed Europe to gain power in the seas and gain more power than China.


What route might they have all taken? Describe it...

the Holy Roman Empire: First, the Holy Roman Emperor would have to start sailing toward the North Sea. Than he would have to go through the English Channel and sail along the rest of Europe until he reaches Africa and also go around the border of Africa until he reaches the Bay of Bengal. Next, he would have to be careful going through the Malacca Strait because of the pirates. After he goes through the Malacca Strait, he will reach China pretty straight forwardly if he sails North.

the Emperor of Byzantium(also called Constantinople): The Emperor of Byzantium will first come down to the Mediterranean Sea and also sail along Africa. Then the rest of his journey will be same as the Holy Roman Emperor.

the Doce(ruler) of Venice: The Doce of Venice will have the same route as the Emperor of Byzantium.

the king of England: The king of England will have to go through the English Channel and have the same route as the Holy Roman Emperor.

the king of France: The king of France can either start from the north or the south. If he starts to go north, then he will have the same route as the king of England and the Holy Roman Emperor. If he chooses to go south, then he will enter the Tyrrhenian Sea and follow the same route as the Emperor of Byzantium.

the king of Castille: The king of Castille will have the same route as the Emperor of Byzantium.

the king of Portugal: The king of Portugal will have the same route as the king of Castille.

Look carefully at the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and make some generalizations about China under those dynasties. Size? Change from previous dynasties? From your reading, make any observations you can about the two time periods.

The Yuan Dynasty is much larger than the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty didn't reach farther to the northern and western parts of China.

SO, using your math skills, refer to the following map and figure out how big that new capital would be.

The new capital will be about 15,000,000 square kilometers.

The Forbidden City is now the Palace Museum, and is located at the center of the map below:

Can you find the old city in the modern city? Where is it? What is there now?

Yes, I can find the old city in the modern city. There are lots of hotels and museums now and lots of places to tour.

If it WAS, where would it reach if it began at the Yalu River? Use the map in MWH Atlas p A18-19 to estimate where you would end up if the wall really extended 6,400 kms due west of Beijing.

When I measured approximately 6,400km from the Yalu River, I reached Turkmenistan.